Mercury and selenium in developing and mature fruiting bodies of Amanita muscaria

Both mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) occur in many mushroom species, but the morphological distribution of these elements during different developmental stages of the fruiting bodies is not known. Although Amanita muscaria can be consumed after suitable processing, they are often ignored by mushroom foragers, leaving an abundance for investigative study. Multiple specimens in each of six developmental stages (button to fully mature) were collected in excellent condition during a single morning from the same forested location and composited. With an average of 30 specimens per composite, and low temporal, spatial, and measurement uncertainty, the data are likely to be representative of the typical concentrations of Hg and Se for each developmental stage. Hg (range 0.58–0.74 mg kg-1 dry weight cap; 0.33 to 0.44 mg kg-1 dw stipe) and Se (range 8.3–11 mg kg-1 dw cap; 2.2 to 4.3 mg kg-1 dw stipe) levels were observed to vary during the developmental stages, and the variability may relate to the demands in growth. In common with some other species, the lower stipe concentrations may be consistent with nutrient/contant transport and support functions. Both Hg and Se levels were lowest during periods of maximum sporocarp growth. Selenium occurs at almost an order of magnitude greater levels than Hg. Due to its role in mitigating the effects of Hg toxicity, this property is of significance to those who consume the species either for nutritional, medicinal, or recreational purposes, although the losses of both these elements during processing are not known.

Aeronautical Impact of Epoxy/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite

Epoxy resin has been employed as an important matrix for aerospace composite and nanocomposite. In this chapter, latent and essential features of carbon nanotube (CNT) nanofiller have been considered with reference to aeronautical application. Consequently, epoxy/carbon nanotube nanocomposite are conversed here for space competency. Inclusion of CNT in epoxy resin affected the prerequisite features of space nanocomposite. Dispersion of nanotube has been altered using suitable processing technique. Uniform nanotube network formation affects mechanical, electrical, and other physical properties of nanocomposite. Key application areas in this regard are flame and thermal stability, strength, lightning strike resistance, and radiation shielding of space vehicles. Further investigations to optimize structure and properties of multiscale epoxy/CNT nanocomposite are needed for future success in the field. Hence, towards the end, challenges and future prospects of epoxy/CNT nanocomposite have also been deliberated for the improvement of nanomaterial properties for aerospace relevance.

Sensitivity enhancement of homonuclear multidimensional NMR correlations for labile sites in proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids

Multidimensional TOCSY and NOESY are central experiments in chemical and biophysical NMR. Limited efficiencies are an intrinsic downside of these methods, particularly when targeting labile sites. This study demonstrates that the decoherence imparted on these protons through solvent exchanges can, when suitably manipulated, lead to dramatic sensitivity gains per unit time in the acquisition of these experiments. To achieve this, a priori selected frequencies are encoded according to Hadamard recipes, while concurrently subject to looped selective inversion or selective saturation procedures. Suitable processing then leads to protein, oligosaccharide and nucleic acid cross-peak enhancements of ≈200–1000% per scan, in measurements that are ≈10-fold faster than conventional counterparts. The extent of these gains will depend on the solvent exchange and relaxation rates of the targeted sites; these gains also benefit considerably from the spectral resolution provided by ultrahigh fields, as corroborated by NMR experiments at 600 MHz and 1 GHz. The mechanisms underlying these experiments’ enhanced efficiencies are analyzed on the basis of three-way polarization transfer interplays between the water, labile and non-labile protons, and the experimental results are rationalized using both analytical and numerical derivations. Limitations as well as further extensions of the proposed methods, are also discussed.

Post Evaluation of Tumor Cells Using Fused Positron Emission Tomography CT Imaging

Tumors, abnormally growing cells when identified in our body it is treated with appropriate medication. Anyway the impact of the medication on tumor cells is constantly disregarded. Ordinary tests however appear to be encouraging, the expense and the hazard included is gigantic. Post assessment along these lines should be exceptionally refined to create results fast and accurate. Fused imaging, a combination of PET scan and CT scan with suitable processing is utilized to gauge the volume of the tumor without influencing the subject under investigation.This strategy gives a promising post assessment results on the tumor cell that was under examination. The status of the tumor is also updated at regular intervals with simply imaging the subject at comfort.

3D DOCUMENTATION OF FRAIL ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS USING LOW-COST INSTRUMENTATION

In archaeological excavations, many small fragments or artefacts are revealed whose fine details sometimes should be captured in 3D. In general, 3D documentation methods fall into two main categories: Range-Based modelling and Image-Based modelling. In Range Based modelling, a laser scanner (Time of Flight, Structured light, etc.) is used for the raw data acquisition in order to create the 3D model of an object. The above method is accurate enough but is still very expensive in terms of equipment. On the other hand, Image-Based modelling, is affordable because the equipment required is merely a camera with the appropriate lens, and possibly a turntable and a tripod. In this case, the 3D model of an object is created by suitable processing of images which are taken around the object with a large overlap. In this paper, emphasis is given on the effectiveness of 3D models of frail archaeological finds originate from the palatial site of Ayios Vasileios in Laconia in the south-eastern Peloponnese, using low-cost equipment and methods. The 3D model is also produced using various, mainly freeware, hence low-cost, software and the results are compared to those from a well-established commercial one.

Aeronautical Impact of Epoxy/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite

Epoxy resin has been employed as an important matrix for aerospace composite and nanocomposite. In this chapter, latent and essential features of carbon nanotube (CNT) nanofiller have been considered with reference to aeronautical application. Consequently, epoxy/carbon nanotube nanocomposite are conversed here for space competency. Inclusion of CNT in epoxy resin affected the prerequisite features of space nanocomposite. Dispersion of nanotube has been altered using suitable processing technique. Uniform nanotube network formation affects mechanical, electrical, and other physical properties of nanocomposite. Key application areas in this regard are flame and thermal stability, strength, lightning strike resistance, and radiation shielding of space vehicles. Further investigations to optimize structure and properties of multiscale epoxy/CNT nanocomposite are needed for future success in the field. Hence, towards the end, challenges and future prospects of epoxy/CNT nanocomposite have also been deliberated for the improvement of nanomaterial properties for aerospace relevance.

“Compatibilization” through Elongational Flow Processing of LDPE/PA6 Blends

Polyamide/polyolefin blends have gained attention from the academia and the industry for several years. However, in order to optimize their properties, some drawbacks such as chemical incompatibility must be adequately overcome. This can be done by adding suitable compatibilizers. On the other hand, it is less known that suitable processing techniques may also lead to significant results. In a previous work on a low-density polyethylene/polyamide 6 (LDPE/PA6) blend, we found that the orientation due to elongational flow processing conditions could lead to an unexpected brittle–ductile transition. In this work, this phenomenon was further investigated and the attention was mainly focused on the effects that processing can have on the morphology and, as a consequence, on the final properties of a polymer blends. With regard to LDPE/PA6 blend, an important result was found, i.e., the effects on the ductility induced by the elongational flow orientation are similar to those obtained by using an ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate compatibilizer.

Ti/B4C Composites Prepared by In Situ Reaction Using Inductive Hot Pressing

In the present work, in situ reinforced titanium composites (TMCs) synthesized using inductive hot pressing (iHP) are studied. The effects of B4C phases and applied processing conditions, on the microstructure and properties of TMCs, are investigated. With the addition of B4C particles, the microstructure of TMCs is refined and the strength is improved.Products of reactions which occur during the manufacturing process are analysed in detail. Microstructure observation illustrates, that B4C survives - depending on the processing conditions. The reinforcing phases are homogeneously distributed in Ti matrix. Moreover, results of densification, mechanical properties and hardness measurements help to identify the most suitable processing conditions to produce this kind of TMCs.